Catch operator



June 15, 1943 G. w. ALDEEN ETAL 2,321,724

CATCH OPERATOR Filed Jan. 31, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fizz/me ons Ge'dor WA ZcZeen/ E a rZ Barckero June 15, 1943. G. w. ALDESEN EI'AL 2,321,724

CATCH OPERATOR Filed Jan. 31, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 izveizfois ii Gedor WA Zdeezz Ear flora/Zens Patented June 15, 1943 UNITED STAT CATCH OPERATOR Gedor W. Aldeen' and Earl Borchers, Rockford, 111., assignors to American Cabinet Hardware Corporation, Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 31, 1941, Serial No. 376,794

8 Claims.

The invention relates generally to catches for the door of a cabinet or the like and more particularly to a manually actuated operator for such a catch.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel catch operator comprising a handle portion of generally bowed form under which the fingers may be inserted to open the door, and movable means mounted in the handle portion and adapted to be manually actuated by the fingers when they are so inserted.

Another general object is to provide a novel catch operator comprising a bowed handle portion or pull and a movable member for releasing the catch, which is of simple and inexpensive construction, and which is so constructed that the movable member may be operated more or less as an incident to grasping the handle portion in opening the door, and that the movable member is hidden in the rear or underside of the handle portion so that the former does not detract from the design of the handle portion.

It is also an object to provide a novel catch operator comprising a casing or shell constituting a handle portion and having a base plate on which is pivotally mounted an elongated movable member disposed in a slot in the base plate and extending through a slot in the rear of the handle portion.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 is a. perspective view showing the front of a catch operator mounted on a door and embodying the features of the invention.

' Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the catch operator and the door.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

-,Fig. 5 is a perspective view of parts of the operator disassembled.

. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View, similar to Fig. 2, of a modified form of catch operator.

Fig. '7 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line '1-'! of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-8 of Fig. 6.

. Fig. 9 is a view of certain parts of the operator disassembled.

The catch operator herein disclosed is of a type adapted for use on a door of a cabinet or the like, the door being indicated in the drawings at It, and the door frame being indicated at H. Mounted on the rear face of the door is a catch, indicated generally at 12, having a bolt 13 adapted to engage a strike t4 mounted on the edge of the door frame I I.

An operator embodying the features of the invention is adapted to be mounted on the frontv face of the door and to be connected with the catch 12 by means of a slidable pin. The operator comprises generally a handle of substantially bowed form to'permit insertion of the fingers thereunder to draw the door open. One of the principal features of the invention is the provision of a manually operated member of a form conforming. to the bow of the handle and projecting endwise from the rear of the handle so that it may be engaged by the fingers when they are inserted under the handle. Thus the movable member, when the handle is grasped, may be operated to release the catch. The handle is in the form of a shell in which is mounted a base plate having an elongated slot through which the movable member moves and which pivotally supports the movable member at one end. The other end of the movable member is operatively connected with the pin to release the catch.

As shown in the drawings, the preferred form of the device comprises a handle 20 preferably of a generally bowed form, as shown in Fig. 1. This. form of handle permits the fingers to be inserted thereunder so that the door may be conveniently pulled open. Any exterior decorative form may be placed on the handle as desired. The handle is preferably drawn from sheet metal and is shaped to provide side walls 21. In the form shown-in Fig. 1, the upper end of the handle is substantially larger than the lower end.

Mounted in the rear part of the handle is a base plate comprising a flat upper end portion 22 shaped to underlie the enlarged upper end of the handle and adapted to be positioned flat against the front face of the door 10. Extending from the fiat portion 22 of the base plate is a bowed portion 23 conforming generally to the bowed form of the handle and located within the handle. The bowed portion 23 of the base plate is adapted. to be rigidly secured to the handle 20 by being clamped between th side walls 21 of the handle, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

To secure the catch operator to the door th upper fiat portion 22 of the base plate is preferably provided with a pair of spaced threaded apertures 24 for receiving screws 25 extending through the door. Preferably such screws are the same as those used to secure the catch |2 to the rear face of the door.

To operate the catch, a manually movable member, here indicated at 26, is provided in the handle 20. Preferably the member 26 is of generally bowed form corresponding to the shape of the handle and arranged to project edgewise from the rear thereof. Thus the manually movable member may be operated by the finger at the time they are inserted under and grasp the handle. In order to provide a smooth gripping portion, the inner edges of the bowed portion of the handle are flanged inwardly as at 2'! (see Figs. 4 and 5) and for the major portion of their length are spaced from each other to provide a longitudinally extending slot 28 through which the manually movable member 26 projects. How ever, to make the structure more rigid, the flanges 21 at the lower end of the handl are brought into abutment, as at 29.

The manually movable member 26 is preferably pivotally mounted. Since the movement of the member 26 necessary for releasing the catch is relatively small, a simplified pivotal support for the movable member is provided. As herein shown, the bowed portion 23 of the base plate is longitudinally slotted, as at 30, to receive the movable member 26. The lower end of the slot 30 is closed by a transverse bar 3|. The lower end of the movable member 26 is notched to provide a hook 32 fitting over the bar 3| so that the movable member is thus pivotally supported by the bar 3|, the shell 26 preventing the hook 32 from slipping off the bar 3| when the member 26 is moved to actuate the catch.

The upper end of the movable member 26 is provided with an operative connection with the catch operating pin, the latter being here indicated at 33. For this purpose, the upper end of the movable member 26, indicated at 34, is twisted through 90 so that the plane thereof is at right angles to the plane of the bowed portion of the movable member. The upper end 34 is provided with a threaded aperture 35 adapted to receive the threaded end 36 of the pin 33.

The pin 33 has a linear movement" and is guided by a flanged aperture 31 formed in the flat portion 22 of the base plate. Since the movable member 26 swings on an arc about the bar 3|, the difference in the path of movement between the upper end of the movable member and the pin is provided for by slightly enlarging the threaded aperture 35 in the movable member so that it has a loose fit on the pin. This loose fit, while sufficient to connect th two, permits a small relative change of angle between the movable member and the pin.

The construtcion herein described is such that the operator and catch may be mounted on doors of varying thickness without affecting the movement of the movable parts thereof. The pin 33 is held against rotation relative to the catch, and in the present instance, the end of the pin within the catch is provided with an eye 40 (see Figs. 2 and 3) which fits over a hook 4|. Since the upper end of the movable member 26 has a threaded connection with the pin, such threaded end of the movable member may be turned to varying positions on the threaded pin, which are suitable for varying thicknesses of doors. Thus proper adjustment of the parts is provided so that they will operate in the correct manner.

It will be noted that the catch operator shown in Figs. 1 to 5,,inclusive, in adapted for use with a catch in which the operating pin is adapted to be pulled outwardly of the door in order to release the catch. The modified form of catch operator shown in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, is of a form suitable for use with a catch adapted to be released by a pin pushed inwardly of the door. The modified form of catch utilizes substantially the same handle or shell 26 and a base plate which is substantially the same. However, the manually movable member, here indicated at 42, comprises an arcuate or bowed portion terminating at its upper end in a right angular notch 43. In order to convert the movement of the manually movable member 42 into the proper direction 7 for pushing the pin inwardly, a lever 44 is introduced between the manually operable member 42 and the pin. The lever 44 is preferably supported on a pivot pin 45 carried by a pair of ears 46 integral with and bent forwardly from the fiat portion 22 of the base plate. The lever 44 has a rounded lower end 50 fitting in the notch 43 of the manually movable member 42, and the upper end of the lever, indicated at 5|, is rounded to bear against the catch operating pin.

The catch operating pin in this form is of two part construction so that its length may beadjusted to be used With varying thicknesses of doors. Thus the pin comprises a portion 52 extending into the catch to bear against a bolt operating member 53. The portion 52 of the pin is made of some form capable of preventing rotation thereof. In the present instance the portion 52 is cruciform in cross section and slides in a similarly shaped aperture in the catch, thereby holding it against rotation. Extending from the portion 52 is a threaded portion 54 on the end of which is mounted a sleeve 55 provided with a head 55 against which the rounded end 5| of the lever 44 bears. The sleeve is of a form such that it will be held against rotation. In the present instance the sleeve 55 is hexagonal in cross section and slides in an aperture 51 in the base plate of the catch operator, the aperture being correspondingly hexagonal. Thus to adjust the pin for any desired thickness of door, the threaded portion 54 may be turned into the sleeve 55 a suitable distance so that the operating parts of the catch and catch operator are suitably related to the pin.

In using the catch operator shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the fingers of the hand are slipped under the bowed handle 26. The fingers are thus in a position so that the manually movable member 26 may be squeezed into the handle. This causes a forward swinging movement of the manually movable member 26 which draws the operating pin 33 outwardly, thereby releasing the bolt of the catch. In installing this form of catch operator, the catch is positioned on the rear face of the door with the pin 33 extending therethrough. The catch operator is then slid over the pin and rotated until the upper end 34 of the manually movable member is threaded onto the pin a sufficient distance to cause the bolt to be released when the manually movable member 26 is squeezed into the handle. The distance that the end 34 and manually movable member may be threaded onto the pin of course is variable and consequently adapts the structure for doors of varying thicknesses.

In the catch operator shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the device is grasped in the same manner and the manually movable member 42 is operated as in the other form. However, when the manually movable member 42 is swung forwardly, it causes the lever M to swing and to push the operating pin inwardly of the door to release the belt of the catch. In installation of the device, since the threaded portion 54 of the pin is held against rotation by the shape of the portion 52, and since the sleeve 55 is held against rotation relative to the base plate of the catch operator, the sleeve 55 may be threaded onto the portion 54 the required distance by rotating the handle 29. Thus the catch operator is adaptable for use with doors of difierent thicknesses.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that we have provided a novel catch operator comprising a handle of generally bowed form to permit the fingers to be inserted thereunder, the handle being provided with movable means adapted to be actuated by the fingers more or less as an incident to the grasping of the handle. The movable member is hidden in the rear of the handle portion so that it does not detract from the design of the handle.

We claim as our invention:

1. A catch operator of the character described comprising, in combination. a handle portion in the form of a shell, a base plate mounted therein having a longitudinal slot and a transverse bar at one end of said slot, a movable member mounted edgewise in said slot and having a hooked end engaging said bar to pivotally support said member, and means connecting the other end of said member with the catch.

2. A catch operator of the character described comprising, in combination. a handle in the form of a sheet metal shell, a base plate extending through substantially the entire length of the shell and retained therein by being clamped between the sides of the shell, said base plate being provided with an elongated slot, a movable member positioned edgewise in said slot and projecting rearwardly from said shell, said movable member being pivotally supported at one end by said base plate and held in such pivotally supported relation by the shell, and means for connecting the other end of said movable member to the catch.

3. A catch operator of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow shell of generally bowed form, a base plate mounted in said shell and having a fiat portion underlying one end thereof and adapted to be positioned against the face of the door, said base plate also having a bowed portion extending through the shell, said bowed portion being longitudinally slotted, a bowed movable member mounted edgewise in said slot, a pin extending through and guided by said flat portion of the base plate, and means connecting said movable member and said pin.

4. A catch operator of the character described comprising, in combination, a handle comprising a shell, a base plate mounted in said shell and clamped between the side walls thereof, said base plate having a flat portion positioned against the face of the door and provided with threaded screw apertures whereby the base plate and shell are secured to the door, a movable member pivotally supported by said base plate and movable through a slot therein, and means for connecting said movable member with the catch.

5. A catch operator of the character described comprising, in combination, a generally bowed handle, a manually movable member comprising a bowed portion projecting edgewise from the rear of the handle and pivotally supported at one end, and a pin for operating the catch extending into the other end of the handle, the other end of said movable member being twisted through from the bowed portion thereof and engaging the end of the pin.

6. A catch of the character described comprising, incombination, a generally bowed handle having its ends adapted to be positioned against the face of the door, a bowed movable member projecting edgewise from the rear of the handle and pivotally supported in one end of the handle, and a pin extending into the other end of the handle, the end of said movable member opposite said pivot being twisted to lie in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the bowed portion thereof, said twisted end being provided with a threaded aperture to receive the pin.

7. A catch operator of the character described comprising, in combination, a generally bowed handle, a base plate comprising a flat portion underlying one end of said handle and a bowed portion within the handle, a generally bowed manually operated member supported by the bowed portion of the base plate, a pin extending through the flat portion of the base plate into the end of the handle, and a lever supported by the base plate and connecting the pin with the adjacent end of the manually movable member.

8. A catch operator of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow handle of generally bowed form, a base plate having a flat portion under one end of said handle and a bowed portion, a manually operable member supported in said bowed portion, a pin xtending through the flat portion of said base plate, a pair of ears extending into the handle from the side edges of said flat portion, and a lever pivotally supported between said ears for connecting the manually movable member with the pin.

GEDOR W. ALDEEN. EARL BORCI-IERS. 

